First Palestinian bank in decades opens in Jerusalem

Ramallah: In an unprecedented move, The National Bank (TNB) has opened the first branch of a Palestinian bank in Occupied East Jerusalem, after five decades of absence.

TNB opened its branch in Jerusalem suburb of Dahiyat Al Barid and will provide banking services for some 280,000 Occupied East Jerusalem residents who live inside the Israeli segregation wall. TNB CEO Talal Nasser Al Deen told Gulf News that he was very proud of the historic step in Palestinian banking. He said the measures to get the permission to operate in Occupied East Jerusalem from the Israeli authorities took 18 months.

The new TNB branch is based in a building that was constructed before 1967, which required rehabilitation before use. Its location inside the Israeli segregation wall that was established around Occupied Jerusalem will make it easier for Palestinian residents of Occupied Jerusalem to reach without crossing cumbersome checkpoints that are deployed around the holy city. “Three years ago we discovered a legal loophole when we discovered some parts of the West Bank Area C had been annexed inside the Israeli segregation wall, so we decided to take advantage of this, and open a branch in Occupied Jerusalem, inside the wall which could be accessible to residents living inside the holy city,” Nasser Al Deen told Gulf News.

“This makes their lives much easier as they avoid passing through checkpoints to reach banks on the other side of the wall.”

The Dahiyat Al Barid neighborhood is geographically considered as Area C of the West Bank and falls under full Israeli control. But Israel has annexed the territory inside the wall, so getting permission to set up shop there was much easier than in an Occupied East Jerusalem area.

Sixteen local, Arab and foreign banks have opened branches in the Occupied West Bank since the establishment of the PNA in 1993, but none have operated in Occupied Jerusalem.

Israel has prevented Palestinian banks from operating inside Occupied Jerusalem since 1967, when it annexed the eastern half of the city.

Ahmad Haj Hassan, TNB General Manager, told Gulf News that since its launch in 2011, TNB has two branches in Occupied East Jerusalem suburbs outside the wall to serve Palestinian communities there.

In cooperation with the Islamic Development Bank it offers housing loans to Palestinian residents of Occupied East Jerusalem Occupied East Jerusalem valued at USD 10 million, in addition to interest-free educational loans for Palestinian students.

“We tried to open branches and banking services in the less affluent areas. We have a branch in Al Ram, and Hizma,” he said.

The launch of TNB in Occupied East Jerusalem will help contribute to the economic development of Palestinian residents of Occupied Jerusalem as it will bring in modern and advanced banking services, Nasser Al Deen said.

Two more Palestinian banks; the Bank of Palestine and Bank of Jordan, are also in the process of opening branches in Occupied East Jerusalem.

The majority of the 350,000 Palestinian residents of Occupied East Jerusalem bank with Israeli institutions in order to avoid the inconvience of passing through checkpoints.

With TNB, the Israeli banks’ market share is expected to decrease.

The Occupied East Jerusalem TNB branch will have 25 employees and should all be residents of Occupied East Jerusalem, according to conditions set by the Israeli authorities.

Muslim and Christian institutions such as schools, hospitals, foreign diplomatic missions and even Palestinians living in 1948 areas are all potential customers.